


Pivotal Moments in Ghost Stories

by InksandPens



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Coco (2017), Danny Phantom, Gravity Falls, Mystery Skulls Animated, Supernatural, モブサイコ100 | Mob Psycho 100
Genre: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, This is not a multi-crossover, additional fandoms to be added, just a collection of oneshot crossovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-08-03 12:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16326635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InksandPens/pseuds/InksandPens
Summary: A collection of oneshots, all involving our favorite supernatural mystery-solvers.





	1. Chapter 1

Sam's first thought when she saw the girl was "bright blue." Because she was. Literally the only parts of her that weren't bright blue were her skin, her glasses, and the whites of her eyes. 

Which wasn't saying much, considering some of the ghosts she'd crossed paths with, but this blue person moved and looked like someone still very much on _this_ side of the veil. Weird. 

Blinking once or twice to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, Sam evaluated the bright blue girl from the corner of her eye as they both browsed the bookshelves. Her half-moon magenta lenses perched on the end of her nose, instead of over the bridge, in a way that made Sam think of old ladies. She had on a thick scarf and one of those bulky knit sweaters that insecure girls used to hide their figures, which went completely at odds with her confidence-inspiring miniskirt and thigh-highs. As for shoes, well. Sam hadn't even known blue Mary Janes were a thing. They were almost as childish as her thick blue headband. Sam wondered how Jazz had ever made a fashion choice like that look mature. Her hair itself was styled in a plain, demure way, but its coloring screamed for attention. 

Overall, she gave Sam the impression of being the sort of academic good-girl type that the A-listers might allow on their fringes just so they'd have someone to cheat off of during exams, and would be totally happy with that arrangement to boot. 

Sam figured she must be missing something, because none of that explained what she was doing in the occult section of the library. 

Maybe she was in here on a dare? Maybe she lost a bet? Except, no; judging by how she paged through each volume before putting it back, she was looking for something specific. Maybe she had a goth friend who couldn't be bothered to come look themselves?

Having pity, Sam found herself approaching the strange girl. "Hey." She looked up. "If you're looking for something specific, I can probably show you where to find it."

The girl lit up like a street sign. "Oh, really? Thank you so much! I've never been here before, so..." she trailed off with a charming grin.

Sam blinked at the sound of her voice, replacing 'girl' with 'woman' in her head. (Which was more startling than all the bright blue, frankly. She was Sam's height, for crying out loud!) "Haha, yeah. So, what're you after?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this idea sometime between midnight and 2am, after I'd already gone to bed. This particular story just came to me out of nowhere, and I had to write it down before I lost it. I'm hoping I can come up with more? Maybe some Supernatural and some Gravity Falls, and it wouldn't feel right to not have Scooby-Doo.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, uh, Arthur?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure you’re good for the season 2 marathon?”

“I should be, why? It doesn’t sound like your asking about my schedule.”

“It’s just, from what Vivi was saying, it sounded like some stuff could be, eh, hard to handle?”

“…how do you mean?”

“Well, uh, okay, I know one episode has a ghost on a vengeance quest, and…he’s got fire, and, uh, that mind demon from the end of season one comes back, and I’m pretty sure there’s, uh…an actual possession or several--you’re laughing.”

“No I’m not.”

“I can see it. You’re laughing at me. You already knew didn’t you?”

“Yeah, this isn’t my first time seeing this show, dude. I know stuff gets freaky.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t there watching it with you guys. I don’t know if my presence could…set something off or whatever.’

“You can say ‘trigger,’ Lewis. I won’t snap at you. But seriously, don’t ruin this for me. I can’t wait for that ghost episode.”

“Beats me as to why. You’re laughing at me again. Come on, what’s so funny?”

“I’m not telling. You’ll understand when we get to that point.”

“Okay you’re freaking me out. You shouldn’t look so damn gleeful over something I thought would give you a panic attack. Can’t you give me a hint?”

“ _Weeeeell_ , let me answer your question with a question. Your mansion: why just armor and portraits? Why not, say, taxidermy?”

“What on earth would I do with taxidermy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot that according to the character profiles, Gravity Falls is one of Vivi's favorite shows, meaning that it technically exists as a fictional work within the MSA universe. So I took a different route with this one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heavily inspired by the sentient guitar and cursed guitar theories, by im-fairly-whitty and shado48, respectively. Partially inspired by a joke made by squigglydigg.

“So Lewis,” Vivi began coquettishly, “correct me if I’m wrong, but was that a _purple bonfire_ I spied behind the Pepper Paradiso last evening?”

“Yeah, Mama was getting rid of some old vinyls and she asked me to do the honors,” the specter replied. “She seemed to find it poetic that a ghost lit the fire for some reason.”

“Why?”

“I, ah, deemed it prudent not to ask after I suggested just throwing them out and she looked at me like I’d suggested serving a first-time customer raw ghost peppers.” He winced at his own visual, before frowning. “Wait, why were you out that late?”

Vivi pouted. “The stupid internet went out again. I had to finish my tsukomogami research at Arthur’s.” She looked sheepish. “I _maaaaaay_ have gone on a wiki walk and lost track of time.”

Lewis blinked. “Run that term by me again?”

Grinning, Vivi began to posture melodramatically. “In _the land of my ancestors,_ it is believed that objects, such as household items, achieve sapience if they’re around long enough without being thrown out. It usually takes about a hundred years.” She wound down with a flourish. “I was trying to see if there was anything that could speed up the process.”

Her audience was smirking at her antics. “Why not just ask Mystery?”

“It’s no _fun_ that way!” the blue-clad girl insisted, tone switching to one of eagerness. “I wanna get lost in research, not _lectured_. Plus, I would’ve felt weird talking to him about everything I was reading if he probably already knew most of it. Arthur lends a good ear.”

“True.”

“Plus, there’s always a chance that whatever could speed up a tsukumogami’s development is something Mystery wouldn’t know about.”

“So, do I need to worry about your grandmother’s tea set coming to life?” Lewis asked, aiming for sincerity and falling a little short.

“Oh, no, it’s not for me! There was this story on the news about some dead musician taking credit for the work of some other dead musician and the timing on all the death seemed a little suspicious.”

“…oh. Uh, really?”

“Yeah!” She continued excitedly, beginning to pace, ignoring the the surprise on her listener's face. “Both guys had their images tied to this one guitar, so I’m thinking maybe it’s the tsukomogami. It hasn’t had enough time to manifest, though, so I’m wondering if some kinda death curse could’ve egged it on a little. I mean, if you compare the first guy’s age when he died to how long the second guy had it before dying-“

“ _Vivi?_ ”

“Yeah?”

The specter fidgeted. “What were these guys’ names again?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a collection of snippets for a story based on this premise sitting around for almost a year now. Maybe I'll fill in the moments between story beats and actually put it up on here one day.


	4. Chapter 4

“I’ve never seen a girl look at a semi with such adoration,” Tucker complained.

Danny caught himself hoping this new ghost wasn’t too much trouble, merely to lessen the chance of damaging Sam’s new dream vehicle. A fly around the truck had revealed nothing except a strangely-colored, glasses-wearing, but otherwise normal-seeming dog in the passenger seat. Looked like there was nothing for it but to check the trailer.

“Wish me luck,” he called as he dove in. Through the door, of course, for propriety’s sake.

“I’ll keep an eye out here,” Sam offered.

“Seriously, nothing with that many hearts on it should inspire this level of terror,” Tucker supplied.

The halfa was a little taken aback to find yet another vehicle inside the truck, but his attention was quickly drawn to the three purple shapes darting around in the space.

“Hey!” he called, voice strange as it bounced around the trailer and waded through some other muffled noise. They all paused, turning to him, though they still twitched in synch, which was a little strange. “Uh, is this _your_ truck?”

They continued to stare. They continued to twitch. One grinned open-mouthed at him.

The light went on in the nested vehicle, some van that made Danny think of the 60’s, and the door opened. A melody rushed out, and Danny became aware that the muffled noises he’d heard since entering the trailer were actually music. That explained the twitching, at least. The halfa hoped he wouldn’t be dealing with another Ember.

He wasn’t quite sure what to think when he caught sight of the specter exiting the van. The unnaturally colored flame that was his hair wasn’t promising. The suit instantly reminded him of Vlad, which also wasn’t great. What made him most uneasy was the skull-for-a-face.

Not just that it was floating above everything else, with nothing visibly connecting it to the upper body. No, the fact that it was an actual skull probably meant nothing good. Most ghosts at least attempted to look as they did when they were alive, or as they wished they had looked at the very least. A ghost’s appearance was their identity. _Being dead_ usually didn’t factor into that, because it went without saying. Why appear with such an obvious indicator of deadness?

Danny’s musing was cut short by the sound of a latch clicking, which made him realize that when exiting the van, the ghost had actually opened the door, instead of just phasing through.

“Can I help you?”

The halfa blinked. Was that a Latino accent?

Danny drew himself up, hoping he looked less like a twiggy fourteen-year-old ghost and more like an acclaimed Phantom. “I haven’t seen you around here before, so I’m just gonna let you know: if you’ve got any plans to hurt the people in this town, I’m gonna stop you!”

He expected derisive laughing. A scoff, at least. What he didn’t expect was for the ghost to shrug and say “That’s fair.”

“…W-wait, really? I’m not fooling around, I won’t let you disturb anyone here!”

“I wasn’t planning to,” the ghost replied, and yeah, that was definitely a smile in his voice.

“Huh. Okay.”

Danny watched, bemused, as the three little ghosts floated to Skullface and started orbiting him, still twitching in time to the muffled music. “So, you’re in charge around here?” he asked, reaching his hand out to one of them, which nuzzled him like a cat. Danny wasn’t sure how to answer that, so he shrugged. “Alright. I’ve got my own warning. And it’s not just for you, so spread the word.”

Danny drew his attention back to the skull. “I’m listening.”

He would swear the ghost’s visage grew more menacing as he outlined his terms. “My friends and I will only be in town for a few days. We’re not here to cause trouble, and we’ll be on the road again before you know it. As long as we’re here, though, I don’t want any trouble from the locals, either. So tell all your pals not to go harassing any unfamiliar faces, because if I get word that something’s happened to any of them, I’ll come after them, and then you. A little haunting is fine, but no injuries, no mind control, and _absolutely no overshadowing_. Clear?”

Danny made a valiant effort not to gulp. “Very.”

“Good.”

Danny found himself thrown off as the ghost almost seemed to relax, reaching up to once again pet the little purple ghosts. “I don’t think I caught you name.”

What was his deal, talking so friendly after a threat like that? “Most of the ghosts call me Phantom.”

“Just ‘Phantom?’” He actually sounded puzzled.

Wow, he really wasn’t from around here. “Danny Phantom.” Well that made sense. He could’ve been in the ghost zone until recently. Except…

“Danny? Nice to meet you, I’m Lewis. Sorry if we got off to a rough-“

“Wait!” Danny surveyed the van with a new appreciation, glancing between it and the skull-faced specter. “You emphasized no overshadowing. Your friends that you’re traveling with are _humans_?”

The ghost stared, then pitched forward slightly, shoulders shaking. “Well, not all of them, I was counting the dog in that warning,” he chortled. “But yeah, they’re alive, if that’s what you mean. And I want to keep them that way.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey, uh, little girl!”

Belle turned toward the voice. “Yeah?”

“Were you the one who did the _ **'** **M** **Y BROTHER’S A GHOST!!!'**_ video?” The speaker was a green-eyed man in plaid sitting at one of the booths. He didn’t look like a regular.

Belle grinned. “Yeah! Was it fun?”

“Oh yeah, you did a great job. Loved the, uh, cinematography. Hey, is your brother around?”

“No, he and his friends are out looking for other ghosts. They should be back tomorrow evening, though. Unless bad guys catch Arthur again.”

He leaned forward. “Do your brother and his friends look for ghosts often?”

Talking across the aisle like this was getting frustrating. Belle approached the booth. “Yeah, it’s a second job for all of them. Well, I guess it’s Lewis’s first job now...he used to work in the dining room.”

The man looked surprised. “Wait, you mean this one? So this is _your family’s_ restaurant?” He only _looked_ surprised.

Hmm. 

Belle put on her most charming smile. “Yep! My Mama and Papa cook all the food and me and Cayenne and Paprika try to help but they say we’re not old enough and to stay with Lewis so we go and play with him instead!”

“I thought you said he worked here?” 

Belle _hated_ using her little-kid voice. People didn’t treat her like a big girl when she spoke like a little kid. But right now, she needed this guy to not think of her as a big girl. It looked like it her plan was working. “He did! He’d bring out the food and we’d climb all over him while he gave it to people! They really liked it and he’d always laugh. He never spilled anything either.” She let her smile drop a bit. “It’s a little bit harder now that we can walk through him sometimes. That’s why it’s only his second job now.”

The guy nodded like everything she’d said made perfect sense. Which it did, to her, bit it shouldn’t to him, so that was weird. “Yeah, that’d make it kinda difficult.” He moved to stand up from the booth. “Well, it was nice to meet the young lady that made such an _awesome_ video.” Belle couldn’t help a genuine smile at that, even if she knew it was a sneaky compliment. “But your family’s food is too good not to pay for, so I’m gonna take care of that. Do you guys sell any pie?”

Belle pointed him to the register, hoping Papa had been able to keep Cayenne away from the dessert station. Ducking through the ‘employees only’ door, she clamored onto the counter, pulled down the old corded phone, and punched in a familiar number.

* * *

"Dude, quit messing up the radio. I don't wanna hear that electronica shit."

"I didn't touch it, Dean."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you all get what it's implied happens at the end of this chapter. I kept cackling at the idea but I couldn't write it out well enough. 
> 
> Since the one photo we have of the Pepper family kinda looks like Belle was the one with the camera, I tend to think of her as the social butterfly of Lewis's sisters. She just made a video for fun.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm turning on the spirit box, okay?"

 

 

"Great. Ya hear that, spooks? Try to talk over the noise."

"Shut up. Alright, here goes."

 

 

_**swah** wah **swah** wah **swah** wah_

"Hello? Can you hear me? My name is Ryan. This is Shane. If you can hear us, please respond."

 

 

_**swah** wah **swah** wah **swah** wah_ 

 

 

"If you can hear us, pull Ryan's hat off."

"Don't-don't listen to him. Please don't do that."

"Come on, spoopy caveman. I ignored your keep out sign. Walked _right_ past it. I'm stepping all over your territory. I should be taught a lesson, huh?"

"Jesus Christ."

 

 

_**swah** wah **swah** wah **swah** wah_  

 

 

"If you want us out of here, start an earthquake! Throw some really big rocks!"

" _Shane_."

"Push me down the cliff!"

 

 

_**swah**_ Ẃ̔H _ah_ Ť҉ ͬA̓ͮ̇͗RE͋̿ͩ̓ ̒͝YÒ̒̑̚ _ **swa**_ OI̊ͧ̾̑NG H̎̈́͌̾E̓̐R̨̋͐̂Ẽ͂ͭ͊ _ **ah** wah_

"...what are we doing here? We-we came to visit you."

"Are you real? If you're real, tell us what _you're_ doing here."

 

 

_**swah** wah **sw**_ A̎ͮ͞NG _ah **sw**_ OǓ̶S _ **wah** wah_

"A-anger, no, _danger_...dangerous?"

"You trying to say you're dangerous? I don't think you are. Why not show off a bit, huh? Prove me wrong."

"I swear, I will kill you."

"He may be scared but how do I know this isn't signal interference?"

"It doesn't work like that-"

"Do something creepy! Set my bones on fire! Make Ryan have a seizure!"

"No! _Shh_!"

 

 

_**swah** wah **swah**_ _h͢ơw ͝we̕l͝l̢ do͝ ͜y͜ou ͠kn̡ow y̡o͡ur f̴ri̢end͘_ _wah **swah** wah_

"...what?"

"'How well do you know...' how well do I know Shane? How well does he know _me_? Um..."

"What does that mean? Why do you need to know that?"

 

 

 

 

 _ **swah** wah **swah** wah **swah** wah_ _ **swah** wah **swah** wah **swah** wah_  

  
"I...I think we should go. I'm gonna turn it off. Uh, thank you for talking, goodbye!"

"Hey, look what you did, you creeped him out. If you're real, apologize."

"Turning it off! And half of that's your fault, man."

* * *

 

"'How well do you know your friend?' Really, Lewis?"

"That's not what I meant! If I'd known Arthur as well as I thought I did, I would've known he would never do something like that. I wasn't claiming to know _them_ , just...trying to remind them to know each other. Just in case."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like Buzzfeed as a general rule, but after seeing so much MSA meme-art with quotes from Unsolved I figured, why not?


	7. Chapter 7

“I wonder if she knows he’s dead.”

“Hm? What are you talking about?”

“Those tourists over there.”

Reigen looked. His apprentice’s gaze was trained on a couple at the takoyaki stall across from them. The girl in blue appeared to be describing the food in question to her companion, a purple brick wall of a man who wore sunglasses despite the late hour. And he really was very purple. Even the light reflecting off his sunglasses was purple.

“The purple man is a spirit,” his apprentice continued.

Reigen blinked. No, the light wasn’t reflecting off the sunglasses. It was too muted to be coming from this side.

If even _he_ could see it _…_ “Good observation. How powerful would you say it is?” The vendor continued to address both human and spirit as they examined his wares. Both responded, and Reigen watched as they turned in towards each other and away from the stall, a box of takoyaki in the girl’s arms, while one of the spirit’s wrapped around her shoulders.

“It’s pretty powerful.”

“Mm.” Reigen eyed his apprentice peripherally. “Do you think you’d be able to exorcise it, if we need to?”

“Do you think I’ll need to?”

The spirit grinned, nodding at something the girl had said.

“You might not. But keep your ears to the ground.”

“What about the other one?”

Startled, Reigen turned, devoting his full attention to Mob. “Other one?”

Mob nodded. “There’s another one coming this way. It’s much more powerful.” His eyes drifted to the side, fixing on some point behind Reigen. “Oh, there it is.”

They watched as a third tourist (this one orange from head to toe) approached the group, along with a dog. The first two looked up and greeted them, and the orange man quickly became absorbed in conversation with them. The dog looked in their direction. The dog was wearing glasses.

Mob nodded at the dog.

The dog’s eyes gleamed behind its spectacles.

The dog nodded back.

Reigen looked back at the two humans and the human-shaped spirit. They didn’t appear to have noticed. They were actually making their way- no, sneaking, that was definitely sneaking- behind the takoyaki stall. “So, what about that one,” he asked Mob, not taking his eyes off the gap between stalls they had slipped between.

“I don’t think either of them will do anything bad, actually. If the purple one tries, I think Kitsune-san will stop him.”

“…k-Kitsune-!” Briefly, Reigen’s eyes darted back to the dog. Then they darted again when he noticed Mob approaching it. “H-hey, wait up! Mob!”

Mob didn’t wait up. On the contrary, he walked right up to the dog and held out the back of his hand to it, as if he hadn’t just said it was a yokai in disguise. For its part, the yokai did and excellent dog impression, sniffing the offered hand before nuzzling against it. Mob smiled.

“Ah, nice to meet you…” Reigen offered quietly.

The dog smiled. Reigen tried not to look unsettled. “Likewise. I didn’t know there would be psychics here tonight.” The dog _spoke_.

Reigen couldn’t stop himself from casting a glance around, to make sure no one had heard. People continued to move down the path in both directions, alternately strolling and hurrying. No one spared them a glance.

Mob addressed the dog. “You and the purple spirit aren’t going to do anything bad, are you.” It was a statement, more than a question.

The dog shook its head in a perfectly doglike manner. “What? And ruin the festival we came all this way for?”

“Where are you from, if not here?” Reigen interjected. “I thought kitsune were Japanese.”

“I am.” The dog flicked one ear, then turned its nose to the side. “But _they_ all live in the U.S., and I’ve been with them for a while.”

Reigen and Mob both followed, their eyes landing on the gap the three tourists had disappeared through. Two of them were emerging at this moment.

Mob leaned closer to the dog’s head. “Do they know that he’s a ghost?”

“Oh, yes, rather well actually.”

“Do they know you’re not a dog?” Reigen asked, eyes still on the gap. The purple ghost hadn’t emerged yet.

“At least one of them does.”

“Mystery!” That had been the blue girl, who left her orange companion to trail after her with the takoyaki box as she jogged over. “He hasn’t been bothering you has he?” She asked in Japanese.

Reigen put on a casual smile and tried not to act like he was still watching for the purple spirit. “Oh, not at all, he’s a very nice, uh, dog. Very friendly.” They both turned to watch the subject of conversation, as was natural, especially when discussing fluffy animals.

They both watched as Mob stood up and nodded at the dog in farewell. They both saw the dog nod in return.

“Oh,” said the girl, very softly. “Yes,” she said, a little louder, “he gets like that sometimes.”

The orange man had made his way over by that point, and he smiled over the dog, munching their purchases. “Reconnecting with the locals, Mystery?”

“Lewis, not here,” the girl whispered in English, slapping him lightly on the shoulder.

“It’s alright,” the dog, Mystery, piped up. “No one else is paying attention, and these two already know.”

The girl frowned. “That look makes me think that you’re not just talking about yourself when you say they know.”

“Indeed.” The dog gestured (and _wow_ , was that strange) towards Mob. “This young man happens to be psychic.”

The orange man stuck more takoyaki in his mouth. “If he has _your_ endorsement, I’m guessing that means more than just fortune-telling.”

“Indeed!” Reigen flourished, pulling out a business card and making to hand it to him, before changing his mind and handing it to the one who could probably actually read kanji. “He’s my apprentice, and I’m Arataka Reigen, spiritual consultant. If you ever have a paranormal problem, just contact us. Though,” he risked a playful glance at the dog. “You probably don’t have too many of those.”

A muffled snort. The orange man struggled to recollect himself as the girl grinned. “I wouldn’t say that.” Her grin faded. “Either way, are you saying that he knows about…”

“Ah, so you do know. Mob, you hear that? They know already.”

Mob nodded, but hesitantly.

“That means we don’t have to worry about alarming them with the news ourselves,” Reigen pushed.

Mob didn’t nod this time. “U-um.” He met the girl’s eyes. “Do you know where your purple friend is right now?”

The girl went deliberately still. “Yes. Do you?”

Reigen watched as Mob’s eyes darted to the orange man and back, whose own eyes widened a little.

“That’s impressive, I won’t lie.”

“Oh,” breathed Reigen. “That’s why I haven’t seen him come back out from behind the stall.”

“He already has,” the dog nodded seriously.

“Mob, I thought you couldn’t tell…how did you know?”

“I can’t tell if their hiding,” his apprentice clarified, before turning to address the orange man. Or rather, the purple spirit. “You’re not trying to hide, are you? It was very easy for me to see you. It’ll be easy for other psychics and spirits to see, too.”

The spirit nodded with the orange man’s head. “I want them to know I’m here. Well,” he tilted the man’s head. “The spirits. I didn’t know about the espers.”

“That’s unusual,” opined Mob, and offered no further commentary, instead excusing himself with a bow and making his own way to the takoyaki stall.

So Reigen took it upon himself. “Wait a second, just to confirm:” He looked to the girl. “You knew about your dog being a kitsune?” She nodded. “You knew about your friend being a ghost.” She nodded.

“You knew about the possession.”

She nodded.

Reigen was still figuring out how he felt about that when the spirit spoke up.

“He offered, if that’s any consolation.”

“He _what?_ ”

The spirit was pointing with the man’s non-takoyaki-laden arm at the man’s chest. “I just wanted to taste the food here. He volunteered.”

“I know it sounds bad,” the girl interjected, “but Arthur- that’s the guy Lewis is possessing- Arthur knows what he’s doing. Both of us knew Lewis before…” she shifted, wincing. “Before he died. He’s not just some strange specter to us.”

Reigen wasn’t quite sure what to say to that, so it was with some relief that he noticed his student returning, his own takoyaki box in his arms. “Well, if you wanted to try the snacks, I won’t blame you.”

Mystery padded toward Mob, sniffing in the direction of the box as if he didn't know perfectly well what was in it. “Maybe you should give him _your_ business card, Vivi. Then he’ll know that you really do know what you’re doing.”

“Most of the time, at least. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” The girl pulled a card out of her bag, handing it to the increasingly bemused Reigen. “We’ve never done international jobs before, but we’re only here on holiday, and I don't think we can call ourselves amateurs.”

Gingerly testing the temperature of one of Mob’s takoyaki, Reigen examined the card.

* * *

 

With his master suitably occupied, Shigeo returned his attention to the possessed man, and the possessing spirit. “Excuse me,” he piped quietly, until he had the attention of at least one of them. “May I ask him something?”

They nodded and turned to head back behind the takoyaki stand, indicating he should follow. He turned the corner just in time to see the spirit completely emerge. The orange man blinked, before refocusing on Mob, looking maybe a little winded but no worse off.

“Uh, hi,” he said. “You wanted to ask me something?”

“Do you see anything when he possesses you?”

They both looked a bit taken aback. “Um, are you asking if I can still use my eyes? I can. He can actually see some stuff I can’t, being a ghost and all, and if he’s possessing me he can let me see it too. It’s come in handy on a few of our own jobs.”

“Oh, okay.” That hadn’t been what Mob meant. “Does he try to tell you anything?”

“While he’s possessing me, usually what he tells me is either ‘this tastes amazing’ or ‘there’s a demon two floors above, watch out.’”

“Does he make you dream?”

He didn’t answer, instead turning to the spirit after a moment. “ _Can_ you control dreams?”

“I don’t think so,” came the reply. “If I could, I would’ve tried to contact Vivi.” The spirit ducked its head a little, mumbling the next bit. “I, uh, I  _definitely_ would’ve contacted you.”

The man blinked, before giving a wry smile. “Yeeeeah, I don’t get enough sleep as it is, thanks.”

Shigeo tried a different track. “Are you psychic?”

That surprised a laugh out of the man. “Definitely _not_.”

“I don’t know,” the spirit interjected, “you’re attuned enough to paranormal happenings to make Vivi jealous.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m an esper,” came the retort. “I’m just…paranormally sensitive, is all.”

So no powers of his own. Mob spoke up again. “Can you use his powers when he possesses you?”

“I’m not sure I’d know what to do with them if I could. He can still use his fine, though.”

“What does he use them for?”

“Well on a good day he doesn’t have to, but..." He stopped, brow scrunching in thought. "Actually I don’t think we’ve _had_ a bad enough day that he’s had to while he’s possessing me. You mentioned that he’s not hiding during the possession?" Mob nodded. "I think that’s why, they know he’s there so they don’t try anything funny. Him having to fight others off while he’s possessing me is a last resort, but, well, the just-in-case factor is why we do it at all. When he’s not possessing me though, he mostly just makes illusions. Solid illusions. Black and purple illusions.”

“You forgot the fire.”

An eyeroll. “I didn’t _forget_ the obnoxious pink fire, I deliberately left it out.”

Illusions didn’t sound good, but if they were obviously fake…well, the man didn't seem to see anything wrong in them.

“Hey, hey!” The spirit cried suddenly. “Don’t think I can’t see you eating that!”

The man glanced down at the box in his arms, as if only just realizing it was half-empty. “What? You already had some.”

“What about Vivi? And I only had two!”

“I’m sure Vivi’s learned how to make it herself, have her make some for you.” He paused, before unfolding a calculating smile. “Better yet, have her show you, and you can possess _her_ and eat ‘em together.”

“But we got these _here_ , and-!” The spirit gave up with a shake of his head, and in a blur, had flown straight back into the orange man.

Shigeo watched as the re-possessed body tried to snatch a bite of takoyaki that was abruptly tugged away by its own hand.

“Gimme your _arm_ , you-!”

The man’s possessed face was laughing, at least until he suddenly shoved the takoyaki into his own mouth with much more force than necessary.

The spirit flew back out. “Easy!" he exclaimed, thumping the giggling man on the back. "I want to _eat_ the food, not choke on it!”

“What do you want?”

They both paused, and turned back to Mob. “Um, to eat the food and not choke on it?”

“No, I mean, why are you here with him, and her, and the kitsune? What do you want?”

The purple spirit floated a little closer. “You mean, why haven’t I moved on or anything? Honestly, I just want the make the most of my time here. I want to make memories with my friends, and keep them as safe as I can.”

“Mob! Where’d you go?”

Man and spirit looked in the direction of his master’s shout. Mob nodded to himself.

“I’m sorry if I bothered you,” he said. “Have a nice evening.” And with that, he went back around the takoyaki stall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an idea, but it tried to get away. It dragged me behind it and led me to this. Sorry if it got a bit rambly at the end. 
> 
> I have no idea when this takes place, but assume it's sometime after the Mogami arc. 
> 
> If anyone wonders why no one comments on Arthur's arm: Mob doesn't notice as said arm is occupied by a takoyaki box, and Reigen doesn't notice because he needs to make sure these youths aren't messing with forces they don't understand. 
> 
> If I got anything wrong linguistically, please let me know.


End file.
